2 BAC / UNIT 4 : Sustainable Development / READING Instr.
Abdelakrim Foulfoula
[ 1 ] Civil associations , governmental , and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are mainly created to achieve
the goals of sustainable development. Some of them are sponsored by governments ; others are financially
independent from any governmental support. These organizations play an important role in empowering youth and
women in particular. They also seek to support poor and disadvantaged people in the economic, social, educational
fields , and to protect and take care of the environment as well.
[ 2 ] In the economic field, these organizations create job opportunities for women and young people. They give
them financial aid in the form of micro-credits. They also help them start their own businesses or enterprises, and
train them to invest their money in the best ways possible. In other words, their main goal is to reduce poverty and
unemployment rates , especially in rural areas. In the process, they certainly help and guide current generations to
contribute to the socio-economic development of their country on a larger scale.
[ 3 ] Socially, they work on improving the status and condition of women in society so as to achieve social justice
and ensure gender equality between men and women. Therefore, a major part of their plan is to increase literacy rates
among women by launching literacy programs to promote non-formal education. In addition, they provide other
essential services such as health care, running water, and electrification of rural areas to stop villagers from leaving
their villages in search of better life conditions in urban or big cities. Moreover, members of these organizations work
really hard to eliminate some negative cultural behaviors like discrimination, stereotype,
crimes,extremism,andviolence.
[ 4 ] As for the environmental aspect, both governmental and non-governmental organizations take various
initiatives to conserve natural resources for future generations and reduce pollution by sensitizing people about the
toxic danger of litter and trash. They also launch programs to preserve water, plant trees, take care of public gardens,
and protect endangered animals from extinction. Their role, therefore, is so important that most of the projects
connected to sustainable development are based on their success and perseverance.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does “NGOs ” stand for ?
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2. What are the domains that the organizations mentioned in the text try to improve ?
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3. Who are the people targeted specifically by these organizations ?
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4. How are some of these people encouraged economically ?
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5. Are all of these organization created and supported by the government ?
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6. What kind of social problems do these organizations try to put an end to?
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7. What do governmental and non-governmental organizations do to solve environmental problems ?
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8. Find in the text words or phrases that mean
The same as : The opposite of :
- domains (prg 1) = …………………………………………………………. - urban parts ( prg 2) # ………………………….….………………….
- basic needs ( prg 3) =……………………………….……………………. - failure ( prg 4) # ……………………….…………………..………...….
9. What do the underlined words refer to in the text ?
others : ……………………………………………………………. their : ………………………………………………….
10. If you were a member of an NGO what other fields or issues would you suggest your organization should work on to
achieve the goals of sustainable development in your country ? What solutions would you suggest ?
Issue / Problem Solution
